Link's Awakening

Chapter One:

Adrift

The night and the sea were in a state of unrest. As if the Goddesses were also in turmoil, fighting a battle to last all ages. The boy clothed in green looked at the sky, unsure what to think of it. He had been busy all day, making preparations for his voyage back home. He had packed enough food for the return trip, along with some emergency equipment, not to mention, his sword and shield. However, the boat wasn't large enough, so he had brought only that. In a way it was good. This whole trip had been about self discovery, not some quest for bounty and glory. And he had passed his trials, the boy thought. The time for that was over. He had to return where he was truly needed: home.

But this storm sure wasn't going be making that an easy task.

Quickly, he rushed towards the sails. He needed to keep an eye on them. His hands holding tight on to the rope, he saw as a giant wave hit the side of the boat, slightly tilting it. The boy fell to the ground of the boat. By this moment, he was drenched in both sea water and rain. He got up again, shivering. He had been in worse situations, he thought. He had been also alone, and he had managed to get out of them. He was a quick thinker, he surely could find a way to get out alive.

The boat, however, looked as if it could not hold on for long. What could he do? Was this the end? Trials full of hardship, friendships forged over the sounds of blades colliding, all he had to show for that were not scars, but memories. Memories and dreams yet to fulfill. For a moment, for once, he was afraid, and he didn't know what to do. This could not be his final fate. Here he was, his missions accomplished, his duty completed, and the final reward for this was to die a miserable death at the hands of an uncaring ocean. He quickly realized that this could not go on like this. He had to find a way.

Lighting struck nearby. Desperately, he pulled out his compass, trying to see if he was headed in the right direction. For once, he saw something he had never seen before. His compass was spinning wildly. This couldn't be! He thought to himself. The compass was designed to lead where he was needed to be… Could this mean he was no longer needed? He did not want to think about that implication. He needed to get to his homeland. They needed him back.

Another wave struck the boat, sending him backwards. The ship rocked back and forth, almost toppling over at first. More lightning came. It was getting closer. In the dark of the night, he saw as the water became inexplicably more agitated in front of him. An unusually fast wind was blowing, making him shiver thanks to the cold. Even if he survived this ordeal, he figured he would die of hypothermia by tomorrow's dawn.

That's when it hit him. There was a way to survive this night and make his way back to Hyrule by tomorrow morning. Quickly, he retreated back into the lower room inside the ship. He found what he was looking for inside an old chest. There, he had put his old sword and shield. He grabbed both and hung them behind his back. It was a necessary precaution. He could do without the food, but he needed at least these two items with him. He looked around: The walls were creaking, as the waves collided against them. He wondered if they could hold on for long. He looked at the bags of food placed on the floor, which were probably going to be fed to the fishes soon enough. No matter, he thought. He could not be dabbling in idle matters now. He rushed back up the stairs, trying to get near the ship's mast before it was too late. Unfortunately, the steps were soaked in sea water, and he tumbled over them. He could taste blood in his tongue… He hoped that it wasn't a broken tooth. One of the step's edges had collided against his chest, probably leaving a small wound; his right knee was also hurt. Making a conscious effort to stand up again, he quickly went over to the ship's mast, and looked at the small sail. It wasn't a very impressive one, but it was sturdy enough to survive this storm, he reckoned. The sail's ropes were beginning to unbind again, thanks to the mighty wind that threatened both the Boy's life and the boat's safety. The time to act was now.

Taking two ropes in his hands, he tied them both to his wrists, and held on tight. The ropes cut against his arms, and the water only made it worse. He had to sit and put his back against the ship's mast in order to tie a proper knot on each wrist. It was a risky move, but it was all he had. He stood up again, and started to adjust the sail accordingly. Even if the ship was destroyed, the sail was likely to survive. Either way, he was tied already, with no way of losing the sail, or his direction. The lightning bolts were striking closer and getting more constant. He noticed that the rain was also getting more intense. He tried his best to stand still against the wind, but it still tried its best to make him lose his direction, to scatter him and his boat to the immense waters below him.

Then, another wave came. This one was bigger than the others. He tried steering the boat, but it still hit it. Just then, when the boat was struggling to stay afloat, he could see, for a fraction of a second, how a strike of lightning hit the mast of the boat directly, and, by default, him.

After that, the boy in green's vision faded to black.

. . .

For a moment, he could barely see silhouettes. They were more like shadows, roaming about. They seemed to circle him, like he was some kind of prey. He thought he could hear laughter, but it sounded like an echo. He felt fear again. The same kind of fear a child feels when he wakes up in the middle of the night, after a bad dream, paralyzed by terror, unable to move or look around, fearing that, in reality, he isn't awake yet, and he might encounter his tormentor the moment he makes a move. That's the kind of fear he felt, while being preyed upon by those formless and faceless shadows. In time however, they also began to fade, and he started to come back to his senses. The rain… He could feel it on his back. His clothes were sticking to his body.

The wounds… He felt pain all across his body. He could not move. During those agonizing moments, he wished he was dead. At least, that way, he would be relieved of the pain of the living. He opened his eyes. It looked as if the rain was still continuing its destructive path, but he wasn't on the boat anymore. No… He was lying on sand. Looking around, he saw some pieces of wood besides him.

He had crashed on a beach. He had survived. For now, at least.

However, he couldn't get up. But he needed to start moving! He tried putting one hand in front of him. The pain was excruciating. He tried to drag himself across the sand, to no avail. He might as well just lie there, waiting for his death to come. He turned over, to face the skies. He saw the stormy clouds encroaching upon him, letting their waters form a grave on top of him. His eyes were closing. For a moment, he thought he could hear voices from far away, but it was probably just an illusion. As his eyes closed, Link, the boy in green, felt a slight relief in knowing that, his duty was at least fulfilled, even if he regretted not seeing his loved ones again.

. . .

The girl was doing her usual routine. Her walks on the beach, however necessary, had become a little more wary since last night. The people at the village had talked of a strange ship approaching the island, and the boys had talked of strange monster sightings in the woods. Rumors had started to spread in the wake of the storm. The older persons in the village feared the worst: Pirates had come to the island.

Not to mention, the animals on the beach had become more feral. This made her task of collecting fruit more dangerous than usual. After all, there's so much running one can do when wearing a long skirt and carrying a huge basket on your arms. It was a shame, for the day today was splendid, she thought as the wind blew against her red hair. Her skin, already accustomed to the blessings of the morning star that shone on her island, welcomed it with pleasure. She kept walking down a small, secluded area, a safe spot from most people, where a pair of rocky formations had formed a small crevice. One could either reach it either from below after crossing the beach, or from the top, by sliding down the grasslands southeast to the village. Either way, most people and animals avoided this area, which made it the perfect place to take a rest from the rushed labors of this morning.

That's when she saw it. Or better yet, him.

A boy, clothed in green, lying amidst the wreckage of a ship, his skin pale as death. He looked bruised and badly hurt. It seemed the rumors of a pirate attack had not been so farfetched, she thought.

But she could not leave him there… Besides, he did not look like a pirate. She had read about them on the village library, and his boat only had a white sail. But then… How had he ended up here? The island had not had a visitor since… Well, she had never ever thought about that. She needed to help him, he looked as if he was on the verge of death.

"And well", Marin, the girl, thought to herself, "in order to have reached this island, he must have faced a close encounter with death at least. No one ever comes here… And I don't know if he will be able to get out either."

"Where did he come from?"